Antec TruePower Trio 550

The temperature rise in the PSU was very good for the load range it is specified
for. The maximum difference between the intake and exhaust was a fairly low
12°C at 550W. Once the fan started to ramp up at around 200W, the PSU temperature
rise responded in kind and we are able to see a dip in the recorded values.
The high speed fan played a key part in the cooling. Another aspect may be the
lack of any other air escapes except the rear exhaust. All air blown into the
PSU by the fan has to circulate across the heatsinks and out the back of the
unit.

One word of warning: Due to recent changes in our test bench, thermal results
are not perfectly comparable to many of the earlier tests that we have done.
Our new test bench uses a larger 120mm fan that provides a more realistic simulation
of the kinds of low-noise systems that are in use today. Earlier tests used
an 80mm exhaust fan which means the newer PSU cooling data may look a bit better;
it may stay cooler to a higher load point.

8. FAN, FAN CONTROLLER and NOISE

The fan voltage started out at 4.3V which is a little higher than other (Seasonic)
controllers with this fan (3.9 - 4.0V). At startup, the PSU measured 22 [email protected]
The fan speed/noise remained unchanged until the load was increased to 250W,
when the fan voltage rose to 5.3V. The fan ramped up quickly beyond the 250W
load, and by the time we reached 400W, the fan was at maximum speed. The maximum
speed would most likely have occurred between 350W-375W had we tested in that
range.

When we took load off of the power supply, the fan speed stayed high for about
a minute and then ramped down slowly. For the crossload test we let the PSU
cool down for a few minutes under minimal load (~65W). When we loaded up the
PSU again the fan speed increased quickly. Between the regular and cross load
tests this gives us an indication that if you were to be using the PSU at the
200W range in idle (a little high for a typical SPCR computer) you would be
able to hear the fan ramp up and down with variations in load.

In the lab we were wanted to be surprised by the way this PSU ramped up, but
honestly I think we were expecting it. The build quality did not seem as high
as the best on our recommended PSU list.
Comparing the TruePower Trio to the TruePower 2.0 it seems like Antec has reused
the fan controller, but this time with a slightly higher ramp point to match
the higher power output.

The table shown above compares the Antec TruePower Trio to recently reviewed
models with similar power output capacity as well as a couple of other Antec
models. You can see that compared to the Corsair and Seasonic, the Antec becomes
noisier at a lower power output. Compared to the Neo HE, the residual noise level
is a bit higher, but actually ramps up in noise less quickly. This may be an
effect of the recent change made to our PSU test box, from an 80mm exhaust fan
to a 120mm exhaust fan. In the newer version of the test box, the NeoHE (and
other PSUs tested earlier) would probably ramp up at higher power loads.

These recordings were made
with a high resolution, studio quality, digital recording system, then
converted to LAME 128kbps encoded MP3s. We've listened long and hard
to ensure there is no audible degradation from the original WAV files
to these MP3s. They represent a quick snapshot of what we heard during
the review. Two recordings of each noise level were made, one from a
distance of one meter, and another from one foot
away.

The one meter recording
is intended to give you an idea of how the subject of this review sound
in actual use  one meter is a reasonable typical distance between
a computer or computer component and your ear. The recording contains
stretches of ambient noise that you can use to judge the relative loudness
of the subject. For best results, set your volume control so that the
ambient noise is just barely audible. Be aware that very quiet subjects
may not be audible  if we couldn't hear it from one meter, chances
are we couldn't record it either!

The one foot recording is
designed to bring out the fine details of the noise. Use this recording
with caution! Although more detailed, it may not represent how the subject
sounds in actual use. It is best to listen to this recording after you
have listened to the one meter recording.

As with the TruePower 2.0, the Trio is a very capable PSU, but it's not remarkable
by today's SPCR standards. (Yes, they keep going up as PSUs improve.) This unit
is a step up from the previous generation, though; it is fairly efficient and
has excellent voltage regulation. The power supply looks good in all tests except
those regarding the fan controller and noise. The noise rose at a somewhat lower
power load than the best, but not until 200W was exceeded, which is still pretty
good. It's fairly quiet, certainly better than much of the competition, but
it's not quite up to the best, including Antec's own NeoHE series.

This PSU would shine in a gaming system where the purchaser wants to save some
money on the power supply while still getting a good quality unit. It will be
very quiet at low to middling loads, and ramp up only when the computer is pressed
harder. For a typical gamer (with all the sound effects in most games), this
will hardly be an issue.

The TruePower Trio is approximately $20-40 cheaper at the time of writing than
many of our recommended products at comparable output power ratings. Is this
a worthy savings? Well, you be the judge of that. In the gaming world an extra
$40 on a video card can make a big difference in performance. The same could
be said about silent computing as well.